The Hive Mind
Created upon the testing of the experimental Red Marker that had been reverse-engineered from the Black Marker for military purposes over a century ago on the remote planet of Aegis 7, then suppressed by the Marker as further experiments were aborted, the Marker proving itself to be too dangerous to wield as a weapon. A tower-like being that is the source of all Necromorphs, this Necromorph telepathically controls all other Necromorphs. The Hive Mind is capable of spewing out Pregnants and organic bombs from its orifice, and utilizes it's immense tentacles that run along it's massive body to crush it's enemies. The organs lining its mouth and behind its ribs are vital to the Hive Mind's survival. Initially seen on a blurred video shown by Dr. Kyne and worshiped as a god by the insane Dr. Mercer, the Hive Mind is fought in the final level of Dead Space and found on Aegis 7. It's appearance is that of a titanic, segmented worm-like monster. It was seen briefly writhing at the edge of the platform where the Red Marker's pedestal lay, screaming and commanding all Necromorphs in the area to impede Isaac from reattaching the Marker to its pedestal. They fail, and the Hive Mind is briefly rendered dormant by the reactivated Marker until Kendra Daniels removes the Marker and takes it back to the shuttle while showing Isaac the extent of his insanity, having being used by the Marker as a pawn through hallucinations of his girlfriend Nicole Brennan. Reawakened for the second time, the Hive Mind, angrier than ever, decided to deal with the humans that had been causing it so much trouble. A tentacle smashes Kendra away from the shuttle just before she boards it and slams down on her, taking much care to smear her across the floor into a bloody mess and assorted body parts. The tentacle then curls around Isaac forming an inescapable enclosure as the core body of the Hive Mind rises from the crater to personally face him, forcing him to confront the truest stuff of nightmares in a bid for survival, once and for all. Strategy The battle with the source of the infection takes place in several stages: *One of the Hive Mind's most common methods of attacking involves smashing you with its two tentacles, one at a time. Watch for a tentacle that coils backwards in preparation for this attack. The Hive Mind Battle WQLgDWfMLKQ *Even if you can dodge the tentacle slams, be wary of any explosive canisters the tentacle hits, whose explosion can injure Isaac if he's close by. It would be a good idea to detonate the canisters before entering the boss-area. *In the first phase of the battle, the Hive Mind will roar at Isaac as it smashes a tentacle down on him. Use these opportunities to aim, shoot and destroy three of its five mouth-organs to begin the next stage of the battle. *After three pustules lining the mouth have been destroyed it will drag you up in the air in an attempt to devour you. While in the air the best bet is to use the Plasma Cutter or Pulse Rifle for accuracy, aiming and range while shooting it on its remaining 2 weak points. When the last two organs are destroyed it will release you, beginning the final battle phase. Do note that if you are finding it difficult to hit and destroy the pustules while dangling from the tentacle, you may weaken them before the Hive Mind picks you up. *At this point there are 5 sacks in the middle of its chest which are now occasionally exposed. Beware of the Pregnants and explosive sacks it now spits out at Isaac along with the Tentacle slams. Destroy all five organs and the Hive Mind is defeated. *A well aimed mine from the Line Gun or the Force Gun will sometimes destroy more than 1 sack in its chest, making it easier and faster to kill it.(Note: if the mine destroys all but 1 sack, you cannot use another mine to destroy the last one, primary fire is needed.) *Do note, however, while it's swaying in the midst of its death throes, do not stand near the edge of the platform because it falls onto that particular platform edge and you could be crushed. Trivia *It shares several similarities with the Halo's Gravemind, itself also being an amalgamation of countless bodies of sentient beings able to telepathically control it's lesser brethren. *If Isaac should fail to destroy the remaining two pustules on the Hive Mind's head when grabbed, a scripted death scene follows. It will force Isaac into it's mouth then pull him out violently, ripping off both his arms. The Hive Mind then grips Isaac between its teeth then pulls him in half. It swallows Isaac's upper torso and throws his legs to the platform. This takes about thirty seconds realtime, complete with screaming and all associated gore. Images Image:Hive_mind_stage_1.JPG|Stage 1 Image:Hive_mind_stage_2.JPG|Stage 2 Image:Hive_mind_stage_3.JPG|Stage 3 Category:Necromorphs